216 Wii,d Birds and their Haunts 



miles, and I can say with assurance that no applicant for 

 a day's shooting among the quists is ever refusea. 



When last I engaged in this sport I pursued the follow- 

 ing tactics : I arrived in the county of Herefordshire, in 

 the Ross-on-Wye district, one evening in spring, and 

 having asked permission of a neighbouring farmer, I 

 sallied forth the following morning at daybreak, and 

 having constructed a bower of cut branches in the vacant 

 space between two thick bushes, close to the young peas, 

 I awaited the early birds. Soon was heard the whistle of 

 wings as a bird alighted in the branches of the over- 

 arching tree. An upward glance revealed the culprit, and 

 down came number one. This bird I placed in position 

 among the growing crops, and a very short time elapsed 

 before number two alighted close by. The moment it 

 reached earth I fired, and thus gave the dead bird a com- 

 panion. This sort of warfare went on, firing at short and 

 long range — viz., from fifteen to forty yards — till eleven 

 o'clock, when I repaired to my temporary homestead for 

 lunch, carrying 26 plump birds. 



The next day I selected the other extremity of the farm 

 of two hundred acres, where a similar crop had been sown, 

 and, although I had fewer birds, I managed to do well to 

 the tune of 18. 



My best day at this sport, however, was in Wiltshire, 

 on a farm, bordering well-wooded land, belonging to the 

 Marquis of Aylesbury. It was the beginning of harvest, 

 and the shocks of wheat were piled up on one end of an 

 oblong-shaped field. I duly selected my bower as in the 

 spring, and kept watch towards the wood for the first 

 arrival. Soon a bird was seen making for the cut wheat, 

 which I secured, and followed tne tactics before men- 

 tioned. Presently several were seen to enter tne tree 

 above me, and as they flew to the wheat I despatched them 

 one by one, sticking each bird in a feeding position at 

 varying distances, some on the shocks and others on 

 terra firma. This sort of sport went on all the morning 

 till I had bagged 20 couple, to the apparent delight of the 

 farmer and his agricultural neighbours who participated 

 in the spoil. Extreme caution is needed at the onset if a 

 good haul is desired, for even the quist can be wary. 



